This invention relates generally to audio and video processing and more particularly to a method and apparatus for generating a multimedia document from a variety of audio and video sources.
As computer technology advances, it provides the public and private sectors with an ever-increasing array of services, data resources, and programming options. For example, computers may now be equipped with a television tuner such that it is capable of receiving broadcast television. The television tuner may be an external device, or part of a printed circuit board (PCB) that is installed in the computer. One such television tuner board is the All-In-Wonder manufactured by ATI Technologies, Inc.
The television tuner, upon receiving a television broadcast, provides the received signals to a decoder which converts the received signals into digital video data. Once in the digital domain, the computer can manipulate the video data. For example, if the television broadcast is also transmitted with closed caption text, the computer can produce a computerized TV magazine. In essence, the TV magazine consists of a plurality of still video images sampled from the video data accompanied by the closed caption text. Thus, if a user misses the live broadcast of a television program which includes closed caption text, the user has the option of having his or her computer record the television program as a TV magazine.
While the TV magazine provides a computer user more flexibility in viewing television programs, such programs must include the closed caption text. If the program does not include the closed caption text, only still images can be recorded. A further limitation of TV magazines arises due to the copyright nature of television programs. While the owner of a copyrighted work has the right to copy, display, distribute, etc., a private user does not have such rights without expressed written consent. Thus, if a private user desired to place a TV magazine on his or her web page, that person would most likely be violating the rights of the copyright owner. Of course, the copyright owner may place the copyrighted TV magazine on its web page without such an issue, but controlling copying of the TV magazine would be very difficult.
In addition to receiving television broadcasts, a video decoder such as the one on the All-in-Wonder board is capable of receiving video images from other sources such as video cassette recorders, digital video disc players, video cameras, etc. If a user desired to make a TV magazine of a personally recorded event, such as a vacation, the user would have to enter in the associated text. Such a process, while producing the TV magazine, requires a considerable amount of work.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and/or apparatus that allows a user to conveniently produce a multimedia document without the above mentioned complications of having to generate the associated text and potential legal issues of TV magazines.